Bittersweet Patchwork

I have a confession; to me, few things in this life are more mundane and maddening than sewing squares of fabric into rows. I’d been quilting for over a year when I realized this, but fortunately I was already considering improv quilting, so instead of losing my mind, I breathed new life into my sewing and lived happily ever after.

Okay, not ever-after, but in the last fifteen months, my adventures in quilting have become less bound by patchwork and far more satisfying. Having said that, here’s a finished quilt top, basted no less, and yup, it’s patchwork.

Squares that are a Christmas Gift not a Christmas Quilt have been hanging on the wall for a while, then on Sunday I sewed together those fifteen rows, which ironically I love doing. If someone would sew the squares into rows, I’d gladly do the rest.

I thought about this as I built those rows into a cohesive quilt top; there’s the magic of it coming together of course. But I love nesting the seams, I like ironing, then observing how many corners are spot-on. Those that aren’t add their own unique mark, for nothing in this life is perfect, not sewing improv or traditionally. Both have their merits and niggles.

The back is just half-yard cuts of Kona fabrics with small pieces filling the gaps. I wanted a contrast to the front, and plan to hand-quilt diagonally in gray thread.

I chose patchwork for this gift because it was a simple way to go, and it’s for a child. My nephew isn’t going to admire fancy techniques; hopefully he’ll like the fabrics, a camping theme roughly explored amid the cottons. What I learned is how valuable are a variety of skills, even if some drive me a bit batty.

Waiting for me to finish this post….

The best part about prepping this project for the hand-quilting is that I’ve come down with a slight cold, and there’s little brain power required to sit on the sofa and run a needle through a quilt sandwich. I didn’t even write today, no intellect to fashion more than letters to loved ones and this post. However, I’ll spend much of this afternoon on the couch pondering the Snyders and Aherns, Marek, Laurie, and Stanford, giving thanks that I finally figured out what to do with Wilma Gordon’s chocolate cake recipe. There’s a time for all things, from patchwork to plot twists. All of matter of appreciating how life shakes out.